Paying homage to the high street

Never mind Small Business Saturday, that once-a-year shopping day that takes place in November. In many Long Island villages, small businesses are often the very fabric of the community.

And recently, a North Shore village paid tribute to the way its downtown serves as a backdrop to the community at large.

Every Friday afternoon during the school year, most of the foot traffic on Port Washington’s Main Street is generated by middle and high school kids.

It’s their big Friday moment—a time to get together with friends for ramen, pizza, or yogurt, and the list goes on. Maybe they’ll grab a bagel or a sandwich at one of the malls. Or maybe they’ll head down to the Town Dock and enjoy an ice cream, and weather and time permitting, stay for an outdoor concert and sunset over Manhasset Bay.

Taken together, those moments were part of the theme of this year’s prom, or Gambol as it’s known in Port Washington.

“It’s the last moment of their high school life,” said Dawn Andrew, who chairs Gambol this year. “I wanted them to remember all the good things about the city before they move on.”

This year’s theme used to be Moon on the Bay, complete with nods to dinners at the North Hempstead Town Dock on Manhasset Bay, as well as some of the kids’ favorite spots: Douglas & James Ice Cream, Ralph’s Famous Italian Ices & Ice Cream, Gino’s , The Original Carlo’s Pizza, Cactus Café and more.

The vision was made possible with the help of local sponsoring organizations and businesses.

Carl Guilbeau, event producer and creative designer with Geo Events, which has a location in Hicksville, made the vision a reality.

“I love balls,” Guilbeau said. “That’s how I got into this industry.”

He had a connection to families in Port Washington, being retained for coming-of-age celebrations such as bar and bat mitzvahs in the community.

For Gambol, “I wanted to create this immersive, nostalgic experience,” Guilbaud said

Except for the first two years of the pandemic, Gambol has long been held at Castle Gould, a 100,000-square-foot limestone mansion built in 1904 on the Sands Point Reserve that was modeled after Ireland’s Kilkenny Castle. Not many kids can say they’ve attended a prom in a castle, but instead of focusing on the glitz and glamor that comes to mind when they think of Gold Coast mansions, Andrew infused this year’s festivities with an appreciation for those places that served as the background of the completion of the roots of the elderly.

Guilbaud took the special empty seat in the castle and brought Andrew’s vision to life. It included a time-lapse screen of a sunset in Manhasset Bay so kids could take pictures for their Instagram stories.

After two years of living in a pandemic, Andrew wanted to put meaning into prom. Consider, for example, the bay and its sunsets. “The kids grew up in the Bay. Their parents took them there in strollers,” she said.

And there were tributes to small businesses everywhere, including the traditional casino, which was named in memory of Jimmy “Shoes” Kallenberg.

Kallenberg, who died in 2021, in many ways epitomized small business in the community. A lifelong resident of Port Washington, for decades he and his family ran what eventually became Jimmy’s Shoes, where families in town regularly bought shoes for their children. He gave back to the community by serving in organizations such as Port Washington Youth Activities and the Chamber of Commerce and by becoming the executive director of the Port Washington Business Improvement District. For about two decades, he manned the casino tables at Gambol as one of the many volunteers at the events.

Approximately 50 businesses and organizations contributed to Gambol, including the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, Gambol’s platinum sponsor.

This support and other donations increased Gambol’s inclusivity so that anyone could attend, regardless of their ability to purchase a ticket or prom dress – there were many donated dresses for people to choose from.

On Long Island, a coalition of business and community groups is also promoting the importance of small businesses. The group includes rrepresentatives from more than a dozen chambers of commerce, Vision Long Island, Long Island Main Street Alliance, small business owners and civic leaders. Their message? Long Islanders don’t have to travel and can stay closer to home to support local businesses in their communities where there festivals, live music nights, outdoor art exhibitions, cultural attractions and other family activities.

Meanwhile in Port Washington, when it came to Gambol, who recently celebrated his 70th^th year business was willing to take part.

“Falconer Florist has been serving the community for 102 years,” said Fred Falconer, owner of the florist. “As an alumnus of Schreiber High School and a supporter of all Port Washington traditions, supporting Gambol is one of the many time-honored traditions we uphold.”

“It comes back to the kids,” said Amy Luria-Nissenbaum, owner of Luria Deisgn & Style, which worked on the floor plan. “It’s a good send-off from the district and the city.”

“The adults had a great time seeing the kids and parents celebrating,” Guilbeau said.

This year’s Gambol “was a good introduction for businesses that didn’t know about it,” Andrew said. “There are a lot of new businesses in town.”

And there are new post-quarantine owners who haven’t had the chance to learn all the traditions of the community.

“This town and its residents support us in so many ways – we literally wouldn’t be here without them,” said Dr. Neal Vohora, owner of Beacon Pharmacy and Hunold Pharmacy + Gift Shop in Port Washington. “We are honored to support local initiatives like Gambol and were delighted to see such a great event for our seniors. We can’t wait to see Gambol next year.”

And Vohora said he and his team “were not aware of the Gambol sponsorship opportunity before this. When we saw the flyer this year, we knew we had to participate. We see it as a small way to give back to the community.”

Andrew said that kind of support is what helps fuel the sense of community she built into the theme of this year’s prom, which had nearly 100 percent attendance.

“It was filled with everything the students loved about Port Washington,” she said. “If this is the final result of their high school experience and they have a really positive memory when they leave Gambol, then mission accomplished.”